Patriots’ Day Road Race – Canceled!! Due to inclement weather, the Road Race team has decided to cancel the race this year. Only the second time in 70 years! See you all next week at our meeting on April 24.
Westbrook Community Clean Up Day – Saturday May 5, 9AM-1PM (come at any time during this window and stay as long as you can). Start at Riverbank Park or 192 Brown St (Community Policing Center). City provides gloves, bags, safety vests, and other tools. Wear closed toed shoes. Bring water and some friends! For more information or to register 591-8135 or email recycling@westbrook.me.us
The Locker Project - Note change of time for rest of School Year due to elimination of early release. Fresh food and baked goods distribution at Westbrook High School in the cafeteria. Two or three volunteer needed for each of these upcoming dates. Approx 1:45-3PM each time. Sign in at front office and go to cafeteria. Wednesdays April 25, May 2, 16, 30 and June 13. First event at Westbrook Community Center will be June 27. Help lay out food on tables and interact with the kids to encourage them to take items. You will be a welcoming presence, making sure people know they are invited to take food. Everyone is invited to bring food home with them. This a great way to de-stigmatize free food distributions, particularly in the case of fresh food that would otherwise be wasted. If you can help on any of these dates, please contact Christine Johnson. For more information, or to donate, visit their website: mainelockerproject.org
NEW!!! Princeton Elementary School Literacy Project - Books are being collected for the library at the Elementary School in Princeton ME in Washington County. Books will also be given to students in Grades 1-8 for their personal use. A week long Literacy program will engage the students in active reading for one week in July. Gently used donations are welcomed. Classics are encouraged as well as series. The goal is to collect up to 800 books. Please bring donations to any meeting between now and July 17.
CLYNK for Literacy - Ongoing - Don't forget to keep filling those bags to help fund the children's books we ask our speakers to sign for the Baxter and Walker Libraries. Extra bags are always available at our meetings. If you have been working on filling a bag for a very long time (6 months or more), please consider returning it and starting a new one. Thank you for your ongoing support of this fundraiser!
Donate to our Club's Charity through Amazon Smile – Ongoing - If you order items from Amazon.com, even if not very often, you can help Westbrook Gorham Rotary Club Charities. Go to http://smile.amazon.com/. Search for our Charity and select it. You may need to login to your Amazon account before being able to finalize your selection. Then, when you shop Amazon.com (always starting from http://smile.amazon.com/) a portion of every purchase will be donated to our charity.
Can Tabs for Ronald MacDonald House – Ongoing - Let’s keep collecting those can tabs so we'll have a big donation in the spring. Watch here for a date to bring in your collection!
Henry Saunders' 90th Birthday Party - Saturday June 23, 2018, 11AM- 3PM, including social, lunch & cake cutting. 15 Long Point Rd, Standish, ME. Members who know Henry are welcome to attend. Invitations will be sent out shortly with RSVP to Henry's daughter Leslie McManus. More details to follow.
Westbrook Together Days - Friday-Saturday June 1-2. Food, music, parade, fireworks, and family fun!! Vendors are being asked to sign up by May 6 at http://westbrooktogetherdays.com/vendors/
Gorham Community Night at the Ball Park - Thursday, July 12, 2018. The Portland Sea Dogs, AA Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, take on the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, AA Affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays at 7:00 PM. Ticket $9 Gorham Night at Sea Dogs
Westbrook Community Night at the Ball Park – Wednesday, August 15, 2018. The Portland Sea Dogs take on the Trenton Thunder, AA Affiliate of the New York Yankees at 7:00 PM. Ticket $9 Westbrook Night at Sea Dogs
Community Food Drive - Hannaford Drive- Saturday August 18, 10AM-2PM. Contact Sarah Hutchins to volunteer.
There are lots of upcoming opportunities for networking, sharing, and learning with Rotarians from across our District. Also featured are some fun fundraisers being held by nearby clubs.
Party with a Purpose 2018 - Fundraiser of Portland Sunrise Rotary - Wednesday May 16, 5:30PM at Dimillo’s - $30 - Raising funds for the Maine Children’s Cancer Program. Live and silent auction. Tickets are available at the door as well as on line at https://fundraising.mmc.org/mccp/rotarysocial
Mid-Coast Maine’s Got Talent – Friday May 18, 7PM Crooker Theater, 116 Maquoit Rd, Brunswick, Adults $12, Seniors & Students $10, Families $30. Benefit Brunswick Rotary Club Charities
8th Annual Pizza Challenge and Silent Auction - Fundraiser of Sebago Lake Rotary Club - Thursday May 24,5-7PM. In front of Smitty's Cinema, 795 Roosevelt Trail, Windham
5th Annual Touch a Truck – Fundraiser and Family Fun Event of Scarborough Rotary – Saturday June 2, 10AM-2PM, Scarborough Downs - 90 Payne Road - Scarborough, ME $5 person/$20 family. Get up close and personal with Fire Trucks, Police Vehicles, Bucket Trucks, Tractors, Heavy Equipment, Delivery Trucks, School Bus, Book Mobile and so much more. Concessions available and other vendors - Pony Rides, Music, Face Painting and more.
Maine Outdoor Challenge – Join the Portland Rotary Club during June 4th - 6th and try your hand at some of Maine’s outdoor sporting events. Put together a team of 5 to compete in archery, clay shooting, fly fishing and more. To learn more visit Maine Outdoor Challenge and help us raise money for the Boys & Girls Club of Maine. All sporting events take place at the LLBean Outdoor Discovery School.
9th Annual Golf Tournament – Fundraiser of Bridgton Lakes Region Rotary – Saturday June 9, 8AM - Bridgton Highlands Golf and Tennis Club. For more info email George Klauber: georgeklauber@gmail.com
Our newest member, Kathi Hall Perkins, was born in Bangor ME. However, she moved away two weeks later once her dad had graduated from UMaine. The oldest of six kids, she grew up around Rotary. Her dad was an active Rotarian and the family hosted many traveling guests over the years like boy scouts and Up With People cast members, as well as Rotarians. Her dad is a Past District Governor, so there were many Rotary-related trips to conventions and service projects. She has traveled to Haiti twice with her dad on Rotary service trips. He has made over 30!
Kathi graduated from Middlebury College in 1970 with a BA in math. She taught math at an inner city high school and received her MAT in secondary math education in 1974 from Webster College. Later, she obtained a CAGS in counseling from UMass Amherst.
Kathi married and move to VT with her husband as he established his medical practice. She raised two sons while keeping her hand in teaching. She and her husband later adopted their third son from Cambodia, making him the oldest of three. Over the years, they hosted 3 month-long summer students from France, Italy, and Spain and 11 year-long exchange students: 3 each from Japan and Germany, 1 each from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Russia, and Thailand. She has maintained life-long connections to most of them. Unfortunately, after 24 years of marriage, she and her husband divorced.
During her career, her jobs have been with young people, primarily with adolescents: teaching in public and private schools, training and supporting foster parents, training and supporting exchange students and host families. She worked for Upward Bound, Dept of Children’s Services, Youth for Understanding, and served on school board. She later worked for Dublin School in NH as Dean of Students where the head of school asked her to join the local Rotary club. Since the club met at the school, it was an easy decision! This was her first experience with RYLA. When she was at Vermont Academy, she belonged to the Randolph RC and later the White River Junction RC. Her last job before moving to Maine was at Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie NY.
Kathi moved to Maine to be closer to family, including her brother Dick Hall, a member of the Portland Rotary Club. She now lives in a condo on the west side of South Portland. She brings a strong interest in education and in international youth exchange to our Club and District.
What is the Recovery Liaison Program? A collaboration of the communities of Buxton, Gorham, Windham and Westbrook, it is a program to help residents in recovery from opioid addiction. Danielle Rideout a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor, Director and peer support person for this program was our guest and speaker on March 27. She was joined by Gorham Police Chief Daniel Jones.
This program was developed in 2016 by Westbrook PD in partnership with Cumberland County Sheriff, a well as the PDs of Gorham, Buxton, and Windham. They partner with the CASH program (Community Approach to Stopping Heroin) which was founded by the Westbrook PD. They also work with a number of local sober houses. Other partners include Martin’s Point in Gorham and Maine Medical Partners, as well as many other agencies in the community.
Following a model created in Connecticut for recovery coaches, 27 people have been trained, including many volunteers. A Recovery Coach works with inmates before they are released to connect them to resources in the community to which they will return. Sixty-seven have enrolled in the program so far, but the coaches have spoken with hundreds more.
As a result of this program, participants are being coached in finding and keeping jobs, and are being helped to find stable housing. People are also connected with basic medical care, dental care and health insurance. The majority of clients are from Westbrook, largely due to the size of the City compared to the other partnering communities.
The Recovery Liaison Program is a grant-funded program, one of 8 such programs in the state. Although clearly filling a critical need in the fight against opioid addiction in our communities, this pilot program is already facing funding challenges for its future. The program needs a minimum of $90K per year to run. Funding from the state has been $115K but is being discontinued. There is currently no local funding available. The challenge with developing a sustainable funding model is that most savings that result from this type of program are seen at the county and state levels rather than at the local level.
L-R: Chief Jones, Sarah Hutchins,
Danielle Rideout, President Bill Chadwick
Thank you to Community Service chair Sarah Hutchins for organizing this program. The Recovery Liaison Program will be the beneficiary of all funds raised by tickets purchased for Westbrook Community Night at the Sea Dogs on August 15. Tickets may be purchased on line at: Westbrook Night at Sea Dogs
If you have an idea for a speaker or program, please contact Christine Johnson at cejinmaine@gmail.com. We are also interested in ideas for periodic evening meetings, service projects in lieu of meetings, or in-meeting service projects
We are now scheduling programs for August and September.
Here is the list of upcoming speakers and programs:
* 4/17 - No Meeting School Vacation
Patriot's Day Road Race 4/16
* 4/24 - Waterstone - Westbrook Gateway Project
* 5/1 - No Lunch meeting. Evening Celebration.
60th Anniversary of House Project
* 5/8 - WHS Interact & Dr Bruce Dyer - Interact Update
* 5/15 - Nancy Gallinaro - Just Love Ministry
* 5/22 - Guatemala Team Report
* 5/29 - Site visit to Idexx - tentative
* 6/5 - Final Club Assembly of 2017-2018
* 6/12 - Anna Turcotte - The Republic of Artsakh
* 6/19 - John Grew - Maine Audobon
* 6/26 - Changeover
* 7/3 - No Meeting -Happy Independence Day
* 7/10 - No Lunch Meeting - Evening Event
See you at the Lobster Bake
* 7/17 - John Lobosco - District Governor Visit - Be the Inspiration
Rotary is about fellowship, as well as service to our community. Even if you must miss a meeting, you can remain engaged by attending Rotary-sponsored events of our club or other clubs like fundraisers, by selling Christmas Trees, by volunteering at our Golf Tournament or our Road Race, or by attending District events or training. Just let our Secretary Mike Foley know when you have participated in any of these activities at mfoley@me.com
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